Air filtering and cooling apparatus



April 29, 1969 F. M. GLEO CKLER AIR FILTERING AND COOLING APPARATUS Sheet of 2 v FM G4 EocKL ER Filed May 19, 1967 INVENTOR April 29, 1969 F. M. GLEOCKLER AIR FILTERING AND COOLING APPARATUS Sheet 2 of 2 Filed May 19, 1967 INVENTOR FM. GL Eoc/rL-ER s ZQ ZJaW ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,440,804 AIR FILTERING AND COOLING APPARATUS Frederick M. Gleockler, Cherry Hill, NJ. (RD. 1, Ridgley, Md. 21660) Filed May 19, 1967, Ser. No. 639,802 Int. Cl. Bld 35/18 U.S. Cl. 55-269 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus mounted on a motor vehicle, such as a tractor, driven by an internal combustion engine, forming a part of a respirator for supplying cool purified air to a face mask worn by the vehicle operator or a worker working in close proximity to the vehicle. The apparatus is primarily adapted for use in connection with farm work being performed when spray materials are being employed which includes chemicals which are harmful to the lungs, necessitating the use of a face mask.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to respirators primarily intended to protect farm workers from the harmful effects of chemicals used for spraying crops.

The prior art includes respirators to be worn by farm workers for cooling and purifying the air breathed by the wearer, but which are normally supported entirely by the wearer and with the air supplied to the face mask solely by the breathing action of the wearer.

SUMMARY It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which may be mounted on and supported by a self propelled vehicle such as a tractor for supplying cool and purified air to a face mask worn by the vehicle operator or another person working adjacent the vehicle, and wherein such air is forcibly fed to the face mask, to thus greatly minimize the effort required to breathe while wearing a face mask.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cooling means driven by the vehicle engine for cooling air which has been previously purified and for thereafter further purifying the air before it is supplied to the face mask.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus including a relatively large heat insulated enclosure in which a large quantity of air can be contained while being cooled and prior to being forcibly supplied to the face mask, so that the wearer of the face mask can breathe with a minimum effort and the least possible discomfort to discourage any tendency to remove the face mask while in an area where the surrounding atmosphere contains chemicals which are harmful to the lungs.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a self propelled vehicle, showing the air filtering and cooling apparatus mounted thereon;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view thereof;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary to plan view of the apparatus with the enclosure covers removed;

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal sectional view, partly in side elevation, taken substantially along the line 44 of FIGURE 3 but with the enclosure covers shown applied, and

3,440,804 Patented Apr. 29, 1969 FIGURE 5 is a transverse sectional view, primarily in DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more specifically to the drawings, the air filtering and cooling apparatus in its entirety and comprising the invention is designated generally 7 and is shown mounted on a self propelled vehicle, such as a tractor 8, which is equipped with an internal combustion engine, not shown. The apparatus 7 includes enclosures or boxes 9 and 10 which are supported by brackets 11 which are secured to a side of the tractor 8. The enclosures or boxes 9 and 10 are provided with removal top walls or covers 12 and 13, respectively, which are secured in applied positions to seal the enclosures by suitable fastenings 14. The enclosure 9, including its cover 12, is lined with a heat and cold insulating material 15 and the enclosure 10 is similar- 1y lined as seen at 16. One end wall 17 of the enclosure 9 is provided with a plurality of openings 18 in each of which is mounted a conventional filter cartridge 19, which filter cartridges constitute the air inlets of said enclosure. A rigid conduit or pipe 20 has an outlet end 21 extending outwardly through and mounted immovably in the other end wall 22 of the enclosure 9. The pipe 20 has a closed opposite end 23 and a manifold portion 24, located adjacent the end 23, which ,is provided with a plurality of upstanding inlet ports 25. A rigid collar 26 is secured to and extends upwardly from each inlet port 25 to receive an outlet port 27 of a conventional air filtering cannister 28. The outlet ports 27 extend downwardly from the cannisters 28 and are secured in the collars 26 for detachably supporting the cannisters on the manifold 24. The cannisters 28 are provided with inlet ports 29 in the top walls thereof.

An evaporator coil 30, forming a part of a conventional air conditioner of the type used in automobiles, is mounted in the enclosure 9 and may be supported on suitable stnadards 31. The compressor-condenser section, not shown, of the air conditioner is mounted in the engine compartment of the tractor. A liquid or supply line 32 leads from the compressor-condenser section to the evap orator coil and a suction or return line 33 extends from said coil to said section. As is conventional, the compressor is driven by the tractor engine and the condenser is cooled by the radiator fan of said engine. The evaporator coil 30 is mounted between the filter cartridges 19 and the cannisters 28, and a fan 34, driven by an electric motor 35, is mounted between the evaporator coil 30 and the cannisters 28. The motor 35 is supported in the enclosure 9 by one or more supporting standards 36 and is connected to the evaporator coil support by braces 37.

As best seen in FIGURE 4, the cover 12 has an extension 38 at one end thereof which projects beyond the end wall 17 and which supports a depending shield 39. The shield 39 extends entirely across end wall 17 and downwardly below the filter cartridges 19 and is spaced outwardly therefrom, as best seen in FIGURE 4.

A centrifugal-type blower 40 is secured in the enclosure 10 and is driven by an electric motor 41 which is also mounted immovably in said enclosure. An inlet conduit 42 extends from the casing of the blower 40 through the wall 43 of said enclosure 10, which faces the wall 22, and is disposed in alignment with the outlet pipe end 21. A hose or flexible conduit 44 connects the adjacent pipe ends 21 and 42 and is secured thereto by clamps 45. The outlet conduit 46 of the blower 40 extends from the casing thereof through another wall 47 of the enclosure 10. One end of a hose or flexible conduit 48 is connected by a clamp 49 to the discharge end of the conduit 46, and the other end of said hose 48 is similarly connected to the inlet nipple 49 of a conventional face mask 50, having a conventional outlet 51. The face mask 50 may be worn by the operator of the tractor 8 or by a worker working in close proximity to the tractor, and it will be readily apparent that the hose 48 may be of any desired length.

The electric motors 35 and 41 may be connected by electric conductors 52 and 53, respectively, to the storage battery, not shown, of the tractor 8 which furnishes elec tric current to operate said motors to drive the fan 34 and blower 40. The blower 40 creates a suction in the conduits 42, 44 and 20 and in the cannisters 28 for drawing air into said cannisters 28 through inlet ports 29 thereof to create a partial vacuum in the enclosure 9, which is sealed except for the filter cartridges 19 and the outlet conduit 20. Accordingly, air will be drawn into said enclosure through said filter cartridges 19 and will be purified in passing therethrough for removing therefrom noxious gases and dust particles. The purified air is caused to circulate within the enclosure 9 by the fan 34 which draws air through the evaporator coil 30 and expels the air toward the cannisters 28. The fan 34 operates at a low speed to produce a gentle circulation of air through the enclosure 9 so that the air will be effectively cooled by the evapora tor coil 30 before it is extracted from said enclosure through the cannisters 28 and conduits 20, 44 and 42 into the casing of the blower 40. The cooled and purified air is further purified in passing through the cannisters 28 and this air is forcibly fed from the blower 40 through its outlet 46 and the hose 48 to the face mask 50, so that the wearer thereof may breathe in the cooled and purified air with no more effort than would be required to inhale without a face mask. The exhaled air is expelled from the face mask through the outlet 51 which may be equipped with an exhaust valve, not shown, which will open in response to the air being exhaled, but which will not be opened by the pressure of the air being supplied to the face mask through the hose 48.

The shield 39 prevents noxious gases and dust particles which are descending through the atmosphere from flowing directly into the filter cartridges 19.

A greater or lesser number of filter cartridges 19 may be provided in the end walls 17 and a greater or lesser number of cannisters 28 may be employed. However, although a single cannister 28 will sufiice, it is preferred to use more than one cannister so that the cannisters will not have to be replaced as frequently, which is accomplished by removing the cover 12.

I claim as my invention:

1. An air filtering and cooling apparatus comprising an elongated first enclosure having a first end wall provided with a plurality of inlets, filter cartridges contained in said inlets for filtering the air entering the enclosure for extracting therefrom noxious gases and dust particles, an outlet conduit extending from the opposite end of the enclosure, a second enclosure, a blower contained in said second enclosure, a flexible conduit connecting said outlet conduit to the inlet of the blower, air filtering cannisters disposed in the first enclosure having inlets communicating with the interior thereof and outlets discharging into said outlet conduit, an evaporator coil disposed in the first enclosure for cooling the air passing therethrough between the filter cartridges and cannisters, a fan for circulating the air in the first enclosure around the evaporator coil, a face mask having an air outlet, a flexible conduit leading from the outlet of the blower to the face mask, brackets mounting said enclosures on a side of a tractor, and shield forming a depending extension of a part of the first enclosure and disposed adjacent to and outward of the filter cartridges and shielding said cartridges from noxious gases and dust particles descending through the atmosphere.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 642,166 1/1900 Sherman 128142.6 X 1,985,910 1/1935 Anderson 55-267 X 2,115,482 4/1938 Crewe 128-145 2,189,895 2/1940 Grutzner 237-12.1 2,216,175 10/1940 Helbing 55-267 X 2,243,999 6/1941 Chapple 128-1 2,581,709 1/1952 Rogers 62-261 X 2,682,159 6/1954 Trask 62-262 2,688,962 9/1954 Summers 28 X 2,730,873 1/1956 Hardin et al. 62-129 2,817,281 12/1957 Schwan et al. 98-1 2,825,680 3/1958 Stutz 202-200 2,860,566 11/1958 Allsup et al. 98-1 2,895,313 7/1959 Flick 62-426 2,964,038 12/ 1960 Silverman 128-146.6 2,971,351 2/1961 Webster 98-101 X 3,078,845 2/1963 Kohlmeyer 128-142.7 3,112,002 11/1963 Van Der Lely --54 3,126,810 3/1964 Karlsson et al. 98-36 3,140,590 7/1964 Gleockler 62-259 HARRY B. THORNTON, Primary Examiner.

DENNIS E. TALBERT, JR., Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

